Mixed results for Qld and NSW in CommSec report

QUEENSLAND and New South Wales sit in the middle of Australia's three-speed economy, between resource-rich states atop the ladder and Tasmania and South Australia bringing up the rear, a CommSec report revealed on Monday.

The quarterly State of the States CommSec report analyses each state and territory against one another on key economic indicators like equipment investment, construction and retail trade.

It found the resources powerhouses of Western Australia and the Northern Territory were leading the pack, while a second tier band of the three most populous states - Queensland, NSW and Victoria - had mixed results.

While Queensland performed well in the past year on equipment investment, construction work done and retail spending, a lack of population growth was hampering growth.

In NSW, the jobs market was a key strength with the second strongest employment market among states, supported by the third strongest population growth.

The report showed economic growth was highest in the NT and WA at 44% and 37% above the decade average, respectively.

It found the fourth strongest growth was found in Queensland, up 17.7% on the decade average, while NSW lagged in sixth spot overall, due to lower trade and investment levels above trend.

Retail trade was strongest in WA and NT, followed by Queensland with 14% above decade averages while the trade was weaker in NSW, coming just over 8% above average.

The report found annual growth in construction work showed NSW second only to NT, up 13.1% year-on-year, followed by Tasmania up 9.3%, Queensland up 8.7% and WA up 7.9% over the year.

Wages growth was strongest in WA and the ACT, at 4.3%, with most other states between 3.1% and 3.5% growth during the December quarter last year.